What about patrolling traderoutes? Does the AI cheat there? Playing as Sweden I owned all of the Lübeck trade nodes coastal provinces. Yet still I see Netherlands steering trade with light ships from it? Unless I have misunderstod the mechanics (Very much possible) you need a naval base (or naval basing rights) to be able to use patrol traderoute in that node.
You can send ships to protect trade if you have a merchant. You can send a merchant, dispatch the ships, and then recall the merchant. That may not be WAD, though.
Ok. Wait, What? William Wallace? Wasn´t he executed ages ago before the timeframe of the game even starts? I get Scotland has an event with support, but is it really Wallace? (I didn´t play Scotland yet).
Since he died centuries before the game starts, it can't be him. It's mainly there to stop England from steamrolling France too early in the game (as they often do). The idea is probably based on William Wallace, though.